Bethesda’s annual Fallout Day live stream just recently concluded, however, to put it mildly, it stirred up very strong reactions. The company not only presented the Fallout 4 10th Anniversary Edition, a kind of Creations, a Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle, Fallout Shelter Seasons but also introduced a new trailer for the Fallout 76: Burning Springs Update. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? But the audience’s response was not even near to being ecstatic.
What the gaming world has been longing for was just the opposite, especially in light of the Amazon TV series which has been the main source of hype surrounding the game. And what they got was… Let’s just say the players’ reactions were quite ruthless. One has to be very careful while going through the comments under the tweet from Bethesda and maybe waiting for the right time to speak might lead to being left with nothing.
One gamer @GloryPlory was spot on “Microsoft: Please sir may I have a drop of revenue from all these IPs you are supposed to be producing content for?” That one definitely landed heavily. Then there is @SilverMoon4712 who bluntly said, “90 out of 100 Fallout users seeing this tweet have probably played 3, New Vegas, and 4 for over 100 hours, so they won’t buy your stuff. I won’t buy it either.”
What is the main message? Players believe that Bethesda is completely out of sync. @Prauwn_ expressed what many were thinking: “Why is everyone at Bethesda allergic to diehard fans doing what they would most enjoy? I can guarantee that if you give 50 people 6 months to a year you will have at least updated controls in New Vegas with maybe a bit of a graphical upgrade, but no just some plastic.”
Like, for real, how hard would it be to work on at least a small part of New Vegas? The title is fifteen years old but it still has one of the most devoted fanbases in gaming history. Instead of a proper remaster or even the most basic update why not just come through with a bundle? Some action figures? @THEOhioTitan pointed out the timing is particularly poor with “hit fallout tv show about to release and bethesda has no new vegas things to show for it leading up other than some merch sales…. what a bag fumble”
And the babble keeps on coming with @MAGAMAN96 terming it “More like a Funeral than a celebration” while @OxiWun just stated “We didn’t miss it, it sucks.” @Craggl3 chose to go with “Rage baiting your community is insane work” which really embodies the whole community’s feeling that is already very angry.
It is quite fascinating that the players’ expectations are almost the opposite of what Bethesda is providing. @ItchyButRash made it very clear: “Literally the whole Fallout Community only wants Fallout 3 and New Vegas remastered for consoles and ported on PlayStation 4 / 5.” With that, they are giving us nothing but the anniversary editions of games that people already own and more updates for Fallout 76.
And speaking of Fallout 76, @LitLanius voiced his concern regarding the Burning Springs update: “Please do not update the game and break everyone’s games. The victor figurine will look nice on the shelf next to my platinum chip 🤣” Which, fair enough, since Bethesda is not really famous for their updates of not breaking stuff.
It appears that the players really find it the hardest to digest that the entire focus has been on merchandise. @EamonnLazaro remarked “At this point, Bethesda has released more re-releases and microtransactions then actual releases” and honestly? They have a point. When was the last time we were blessed with a proper new Fallout game? Fallout 4 was almost ten years back, and Fallout 76… ‘s launch has not been the talk of the town.
There are even some comparisons made among the players between the two situations, like @38Noire saying “Fallout & Call Of Duty are the two biggest video game franchises that take their fans for a bitch” which is a harsh statement but at the same time, it is easy to follow the reasoning.
It is a little odd that even though they are still the most demanding, Bethesda must be aware of what the players want. The comments are filled with threads where people are pleading for New Vegas remastrers, proper updates of the older games, something significant even. Just the opposite is facilitated, as per @Dthyad that it has been “nothing” allowed to surface and suggested that it “Should of been a email or a video not a stream cause you had nothing.”
Still, even a few of the positive comments are demanding more – @apatheticmocha wishes “Fallout 76 on Switch 2 please 🥹” and @LinJieNi is curious “How long will the World of Fallout Exhibit last at the Atomic Museum? Will it become a permanent fixture?”
However, the feeling that prevails still is that of disappointment. @Gamerwhojerks was very frank: “Your lack of respect for your fanbase/consumers is baffling” and @Logy_Wan_Kenobi even termed it all “Tone deaf af.”
What is even more revealing is that even the people who are sharing the announcement do it in a sarcastic manner – @mattdomville posted a gif with the text “I hope you’re hungry… for nothing!” and @KnowlesClint merely posted a gif of someone who smells something bad with the caption “This fucking stinks.”
So what is the situation for the Fallout fans? They are seemingly just waiting. Waiting for Bethesda to actually hear the community’s wants instead of just selling them more merchandise and giving them minor updates. This franchise has great potential and with the series’ new players, one might think it is the perfect time to present something awesome.
But instead, we are finding ourselves amidst anniversary bundles and plastic figures. It appears like Bethesda has already opened the next door by celebrating the past while at the same time not building toward the future. And players have noticed that – they are not just disappointed but they are really frustrated that a franchise they love has been trapped in the cycle of re-releases and minor updates.
Perhaps, next Fallout Day will be different. Or maybe we will get another round of merchandise and bundles. Who knows at this point? But one thing is for sure: the Fallout community deserves much more than what they are currently receiving. Xbox and Fallout 76 continue to be part of the ongoing conversation.
